Latest Game Reviews
Crash Octopus – Board Game Review
Flicking bits of wood is a simple pleasure, and Crash Octopus is a quintessential example of a good dexterity game. A little push your luck, some space for the hail-mary clear across the table shot that gets everyone shouting and standing in their chair when you manage to land it, and some delightful spite when you use octopus to attack to knock your opponents hard earned treasures back into the ocean. Also, the instant karma when you accidentally smash your own ship with the die. It’s so simple, so pure, and so much fun.
Doomlings – Board Game Review
Doomlings at the end of the day is inoffensive. The tableau building aspect gives faint hints of satisfaction that engine building games so wonderfully evoke, but Doomlings doesn’t hit the same highs as other tableau building games, such as Wingspan or Race for the Galaxy. Nor does it really lean into the evolution theme, like Evolution does so well.
Trio – Board Game Review
What if I told you that Go-Fish could be fun? What if I added a memory element? Wait! Come Back! Hear me out. In Trio, designed by Kaya Miyano and published by Happy Camper (in Canada) takes the core conceit of Go-Fish, but manages to create some actually engaging and fun moments.
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization – Board Game Review
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization by Vlaada Chvátil is the 2015 refresh of 2006’s Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization. This is a semi-abstracted take on the Civilization building genre of games, and I feel it does a phenomenal job imparting the feeling of progress to players and simulating a civilization building game.
Glen More II: Chronicles – Board Game Review
It’s got to be hard to create a sequel to a beloved game. On one hand, you have fans of the old game, that want everything to just remain the same. On the other hand, this is your opportunity to capture a new audience, create some new fans. Perhaps address some of the criticisms that the first game garnered. It’s a unique opportunity, to be sure.
Between Two Castles: Essential Edition – Board Game Review
In 2018, Stonemaier games released a true mashup. Designers Matthew O’Malley and Ben Rosset took their game, Between Two Cities, and smashed it into Castles of Mad King Ludwig by Ted Alspach. If you’ve never played either of those two games, let’s talk briefly about how Between Two Castles: Essential Edition plays.
Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done – Board Game Review
I’m always on the lookout for interesting twists on action selection mechanics. From the most basic systems to interesting worker placement mechanics, to rondels, and everything in between, I find the way that games let you take actions to be a fascinating puzzle. Sometimes, when it’s too restrictive, I feel frustrated. But when there’s tension and trade-offs and I get to make interesting decisions, that’s when I feel the joy for board games that really hooked me into this hobby in the first place.
In The Hall of the Mountain King – Board Game Review
The best board games tell a story. In Galaxy Trucker, you're transporting pipes across the galaxy by building ships out of them and hurtling through space. In Food Chain Magnate, you're the CEO of a burgeoning fast food empire, as long as you can stay one step ahead...
